High Performance Liquid Chromatography Method for the Estimation of Water Soluble Vitamin in Five Wild Edible Fruits Consumed by the Tribal People of North-Eastern Region in India

Vitamins are essential substances which are required in small amounts in the body on a regular basis for normal health and various physiological functions in the human body. They are widely distributed in natural food sources and can be easily introduced into the diets to satisfy daily needs. Though vitamins are a group of organic compounds that have different structural and chemical properties, they can be conveniently categorized into two groups based on their solubility: fat-soluble vitamins and water-soluble vitamins. The former includes lipid soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K and other carotenoids, the latter is composed of water soluble vitamin C and eight B-vitamins, namely thiamine (B1), riboflavin (B2), niacin (B3), pyridoxine (B6), pantothenic acid (B5), biotin (B7), folate (B9) and cyanocobalamin (B12) (Harris 2003).